1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sterile substance supplying apparatus for an isolator.
2. Description of the Related Art
An isolator has therein a working chamber maintained in an aseptic environment and used for work requiring the working chamber to be kept in an aseptic environment such as for work on material originating from a living body such as a cell culture, for example. Here, an aseptic environment refers to an environment that is almost completely dust-free and germ-free in order to avoid mixing of substances other than those required for the work performed in the working chamber. Also, sterilization treatment refers to treatment for realizing an aseptic environment, and substances used for sterilization treatment is referred to as sterile substances.
The working chamber is provided with a gas supply port and a gas discharge port, and air is supplied through the gas supply port into the working chamber, and discharged through the gas discharge port. In general, an isolator has a particulate collecting filter such as an HEPA filter disposed at the gas supply port in order to ensure an aseptic environment in the working chamber, and air is supplied into the working chamber through this particulate collecting filter. The particulate collecting filter is also disposed at the gas discharge port, and air in the working chamber is discharged from the working chamber through the particulate collecting filter.
Also, in the isolator, a sterile substance such as hydrogen peroxide is sprayed into the working chamber to perform sterilization treatment for sterilizing the interior of the working chamber (See Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-320392 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-312799).
During sterilization treatment, gaseous sterilized substance is supplied into the working chamber. When sterilization treatment is performed in the above isolator, a long preparation time is required for turning the sterile substance into a gaseous state, which lengthens the entire time required for sterilization treatment leading to a problem of reducing the work efficiency of the isolator.